Compilation
Myrianthus arboreus

A small or large tree 6 1/2–65 or 80 ft. high,—“ 20–25 ft. high, with the trunk 1 1/2–2 ft. in diam. at the base, branching shortly above the base, with spreading branches” (Welwitsch); branchlets and petioles bearing soft short hairs with longer hairs intermixed, branchlets cylindrical, internodes 1 1/4–2 in. long, 1/2–1 1/4 in. thick, when young containing a soft pith in which as in the primary cortex are solitary large mucilage cells, ultimately hollow and inhabited by ants which penetrate by means of small openings. Leaves generally with 5–7 leaflets; leaflets subcoriaceous, sessile, subsessile or shortly stalked, lanceolate becoming wedge-shaped below, or sometimes broader and elliptical to obovate-elliptical, the median one larger, the lateral gradually smaller, apex generally shortly sometimes abruptly acute, base generally obtuse, margin serrate-dentate often unequally, the median segments 8–20 in. long, 3 1/2–8 in. wide, the outside segments about half as long as the median, upper face sparsely pilose, lower with short hairs on the veins and cobwebby-hairy in the meshes; secondary nerves numerous, regular, ascending, prominent beneath. Leaves of seedling simple, ovate-elliptical. Petiole short, longitudinally furrowed, generally shorter than the leaf. Stipules ovate-acute, forming a pointed cap 3/4–1 1/4 in. long round the young leaves, densely covered with silky hairs, caducous. Male inflorescences axillary, ferruginously hairy, hairs very short; bracts small, ovate-acute, soon falling; peduncle varying very much in length from barely 2 to 7 in., dividing into usually 4 shorter branches which subdivide repeatedly in an irregularly dichotomous manner; branchlets of the last few grades 1/2 in. or less in length, cylindrical, the surface forming a continuous mass of flowers which are at first yellow but after the dehiscence of the anthers brownish-gold; floral bracts obovate-cuneate, curving upwards and partially covering the flower; perianth generally 4-partite, about 1/2 lin. long, segments broadly obovate, concave; stamens about as long as the perianth, free or filaments sometimes more or less united. Female inflorescences in pairs, subglobose, about 1 1/4 in. in diam.; peduncle stout, to about 2 in. long and 5 lin. thick; bracts at base of stalk ovate-lanceolate, 2–2 1/2 lin. long, at base of head shortly ovate, 1 lin. long, soon falling; flowers densely crowded; floral bracts linear-spathulate, irregularly arranged among the flowers, a little shorter than the perianth; perianth obovoid, 4–6-angled, with depressed or truncate upper portion covered with small warts and short conical hairs surrounding the narrow mouth, 2–2 1/2 lin. high, fleshy, becoming thicker upwards (to 1 line). Ovary shortly ovoid, about 1 lin. long, passing above into a cylindrical style of about the same length which bears a broad lanceolate stigma recurving from the mouth of the perianth, 1 1/4 lin. long. Ripe compound fruit yellow, large, depressed globose or excentrically ovoid, to about 4 in. in diam.; perianth thick and fleshy, minutely warted above, about 7 lin. across and 3 1/2–4 lin. thick in the upper portion; fruit 3/4 in. long and about half as thick, outer wall very thin; endocarp 1/2– 3/4 lin. thick, enclosing the ovoid seed; testa thin, brown; cotyledons of equal length, thick, plano-convex.